Say you found two papers about the same research: Paper A is the original finding; Paper B is an analysis that references Paper A. You use a section of the analysis from Paper B. Which paper do you cite?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When dealing with sources in scholarly work, the goal is to give proper credit for all material you actually used or relied upon.
Option 1: "Both" — This option considers that you used a section of Paper B, and Paper B itself discusses or references Paper A. Since you drew directly from Paper B for the content, you should cite Paper B to acknowledge the exact source of the wording or analysis you employed. Additionally, because Paper B references Paper A and discusses the original finding, some citation practices would also require citing Paper A to credit the original discovery or to provide readers with access to the primary source of the finding.
Option 2: "Paper B" — Citing only Paper B would properly credit the exact material you used. However, it may omit giving credit to the origin of the finding if Paper B is merely an analysis or interpretation of Paper A’s result. If the content you used is directly from Paper B and does not rely on the original finding, this could be acceptable, but in this scenario there is a direct link to Paper A as the original source.
Option 3: "Paper A" — Citing only Paper A would credit the original source of the finding, which is important for acknowledging the origin of the result. However, since you used a section from Paper B, which contains its own analysis and possibly direct wording, citing only Paper A may miss acknowledging the specific analysis and framing provided by Paper B. This could undercut the precise source of the material you actually consulted.
In sum, omitting Paper B would fail to credit the exact source you used, while citing only Paper A might overlook the analytical framing that Paper B provides. Including both papers ensures you attribute the original finding to Paper A and the specific analysis/interpretation you consulted to Paper B, aligning with best practices for source attribution.

SP25 ESL 118 011 Paraphrasing and Plagiarism Quiz

Say you found two papers about the same research: Paper A is the original finding; Paper B is an analysis that references Paper A. You use a section of the analysis from Paper B. Which paper do you cite?

查看解析

登录即可查看完整答案

类似问题

6. I thought of an idea before I discovered that another author had said the same thing in a published source. Since I had already thought of it, I don't need to cite a source.

3. I only need to cite sources for quantitative information (i.e., numbers); ideas are not quantitative information, so I don't need to cite a source for them.

8. I do not need to cite a source for information that is common knowledge.

7. I only need to cite sources when I have directly quoted (i.e., copied word-for-word) other people's ideas or information; I don't need to cite sources if I have rephrased the idea using my own words.

3. Is it necessary to cite the source when paraphrasing?

更多留学生实用工具

考试浏览器助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单